Happy New Year!
I like the new year I guess. I mean, I'm not a big fan of change so I always get nervous when the new year rolls around and for at least 3 months after it I'm still writing the previous year when I date something. It takes me a while to get used to stuff like that. But one of my biggest issues with the new year is how people make resolutions and say things like "it's a new year and a new chance!" People look at it as a way to start fresh and begin again. When really, every day in a new day. Every day is a new chance to be better than you were yesterday. Also, if you have accepted Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, you ARE NEW! 2 Corinthians 5:17 says "Therefore is anyone is in Christ he is a new creation. The old is gone, behold, the new has come." You don't need it to be a new year to be a new person. At any time you can choose to say "I need to change." That's your choice. Every day is a new chance, every moment is a new opportunity.
Now with that being said I want to reflect on my year and all the things God has done with my life. I've had a great year though these past couple months have been the hardest in my life so far. I can still say this year was great. Because it's another year God has given me. Some people never live to be 16 so I'm grateful for every day God has blessed me with. It's so crazy to think about all that He has done. This year has been a year of change for me. But not bad change, it's good. Yes, it's scary, but it's good. At the beginning of the year I was a shy 15 year old still stuck in the past and trying to make my voice be heard while I was too afraid to speak up. But God has changed me in so many ways. I have gotten to encourage people and be audacious. I've stepped out of my comfort zone though I admit sometimes I backed down. But its a learning process. I am SO not the person I used to be. It's crazy look back at who I once was and to see who I am now. I keep a journal and my oldest entry is from 2, almost 3, years ago. I was so immature and I flipped out about every silly thing. But if you read through it you can see how (very slowly) the little things started to seem smaller and smaller until I stopped caring and left them up to God. It shows how I became closer to Him and started to rely on Him more and more. Though throughout my journal I tell of the various trials I've encountered, you can see that God was working and moving and making all things work together. It's a book of my life. My story. But it's not about me, it's about God and how great He is. Because without Him I am nothing. I wasn't this close to God at the beginning of the year as I am now. But I fall more in love with Him every day of my life. That's something I'll continue to do throughout this new year.
I had some pretty great experiences this year. I went to Camp in the summer and that week really had an impact on me. I still think about that week often. I also had the honor of going to Tennessee on a missions trip with my youth group. I met incredible people there and the little children I worked with have changed me. I think of them daily and miss them very much. Really, I don't think missions trips are entirely about helping people. Because it seems that I get changed more than the people I have gone to help. I also did some crazy things with friends, had fun nights and youth group and grew so much stronger in my faith. Another fun highlight was Family Camp with my church. That was a fun weekend full of laughter and games and weirdness. I moved downstairs and thus got a bigger bedroom which I enjoy very much, though I didn't want to move at all at first. I also biked to church almost every day and sometimes more than once a week. (It's 6 miles to my church, so its a great workout.)
Among less exciting things it's been a great year in the world of entertainment. I saw a lot of great movies, read some great books and listened to some great music! Movies like the Avengers, Red Lights, and Batman. I can't even count all the great books I've read. But you can check my Goodreads for that. As for music, the new Flyleaf album came out called New Horizons. Though it was their last album with Lacey Sturm, which made me cry. I got into the band Icon For Hire, which I've been listening to a lot, and I heard the song Moment Of Truth by FM Static which is so beautiful I want to cry every time I hear it.
So this year has been amazing. Tomorrow on January 1st it'll be just like every day. A new day. A new chance. On January 2nd it will be the same. A new day and a new chance. Every day is new. Never lose sight of your goals and live for today. Life is beautiful. Embrace every moment of it.
Now with that being said I want to reflect on my year and all the things God has done with my life. I've had a great year though these past couple months have been the hardest in my life so far. I can still say this year was great. Because it's another year God has given me. Some people never live to be 16 so I'm grateful for every day God has blessed me with. It's so crazy to think about all that He has done. This year has been a year of change for me. But not bad change, it's good. Yes, it's scary, but it's good. At the beginning of the year I was a shy 15 year old still stuck in the past and trying to make my voice be heard while I was too afraid to speak up. But God has changed me in so many ways. I have gotten to encourage people and be audacious. I've stepped out of my comfort zone though I admit sometimes I backed down. But its a learning process. I am SO not the person I used to be. It's crazy look back at who I once was and to see who I am now. I keep a journal and my oldest entry is from 2, almost 3, years ago. I was so immature and I flipped out about every silly thing. But if you read through it you can see how (very slowly) the little things started to seem smaller and smaller until I stopped caring and left them up to God. It shows how I became closer to Him and started to rely on Him more and more. Though throughout my journal I tell of the various trials I've encountered, you can see that God was working and moving and making all things work together. It's a book of my life. My story. But it's not about me, it's about God and how great He is. Because without Him I am nothing. I wasn't this close to God at the beginning of the year as I am now. But I fall more in love with Him every day of my life. That's something I'll continue to do throughout this new year.
I had some pretty great experiences this year. I went to Camp in the summer and that week really had an impact on me. I still think about that week often. I also had the honor of going to Tennessee on a missions trip with my youth group. I met incredible people there and the little children I worked with have changed me. I think of them daily and miss them very much. Really, I don't think missions trips are entirely about helping people. Because it seems that I get changed more than the people I have gone to help. I also did some crazy things with friends, had fun nights and youth group and grew so much stronger in my faith. Another fun highlight was Family Camp with my church. That was a fun weekend full of laughter and games and weirdness. I moved downstairs and thus got a bigger bedroom which I enjoy very much, though I didn't want to move at all at first. I also biked to church almost every day and sometimes more than once a week. (It's 6 miles to my church, so its a great workout.)
Among less exciting things it's been a great year in the world of entertainment. I saw a lot of great movies, read some great books and listened to some great music! Movies like the Avengers, Red Lights, and Batman. I can't even count all the great books I've read. But you can check my Goodreads for that. As for music, the new Flyleaf album came out called New Horizons. Though it was their last album with Lacey Sturm, which made me cry. I got into the band Icon For Hire, which I've been listening to a lot, and I heard the song Moment Of Truth by FM Static which is so beautiful I want to cry every time I hear it.
So this year has been amazing. Tomorrow on January 1st it'll be just like every day. A new day. A new chance. On January 2nd it will be the same. A new day and a new chance. Every day is new. Never lose sight of your goals and live for today. Life is beautiful. Embrace every moment of it.
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